Kids' computer games appeal to me: it's like falling into a Saturday-morning cartoon. Alice had her looking glass, I have my Castle Infinity. It's the most pure wow-look-at-that! fun I've had with a computer game since ... well, since Pong.
Targeted at youngsters ages 8 to 14 (and, ahem, older), this multiplayer online CD-ROM game features monsters who, 65 million years ago, tried to destroy all the dinosaurs. The dinos built Castle Infinity; unfortunately, a few monsters slipped in, so the dinosaurs need the help of kids to get rid of them.
Upon entering the castle, I ran up the stairs to my room and bounced on the bed, then was pulled up into a tunnel that led me to one of more than 50 levels. At the first stop, the Central Fountain, I found several players hanging out. As you type to talk, your head swells until it explodes into a cartoon bubble. One night a friendly player spent a half-hour telling me how to get to many of the less intuitive places; see, to figure out Castle, you have to talk to other players.
As Rodney T-Bone, one of the dinos, would say, "Get in here now, kid." Be sure to send me a postcard when you do.
Castle Infinity CD-ROM for Windows 95: US$39.95. Starwave Corporation: +1 (206) 957 2000, fax +1 (206) 957 2009, on the Web at www.castleinfinity.com/.
STREET CRED
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